


And To Thee, I Wed

by flipflop_diva



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Arranged Marriage, Eventual Romance, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Mild Sexual Content, POV Astoria Greengrass, Post-Canon, Romance, Wedding Night
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-28
Updated: 2020-07-28
Packaged: 2021-03-06 01:47:38
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,541
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25575295
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/flipflop_diva/pseuds/flipflop_diva
Summary: A Malfoy-Greengrass marriage was mutually beneficial. A power couple as soon as they said “I do.” But Astoria would have preferred it if her new husband actually wanted her.
Relationships: Astoria Greengrass/Draco Malfoy
Comments: 4
Kudos: 29
Collections: Just Married Exchange 2020





	And To Thee, I Wed

**Author's Note:**

  * For [kitsunerei88](https://archiveofourown.org/users/kitsunerei88/gifts).



Astoria took in a long, slow breath, looking at herself in the mirror. Her dark hair, curled perfectly around her shoulders and adorned with flowers this morning, now lay flat against her head, like it had wilted along with the lilacs. 

She touched her face. Her once-perfect makeup had also faded, her lipstick smeared, her mascara making dark impressions under her eyes. She looked tired, she thought. And apprehensive. Not exactly the glowing bride she always imagined she would be on her wedding night, ready to consummate a life of love and laughter with a husband she adored beyond words. 

Not that she didn’t love her husband. That part wasn’t the problem. But she would be a fool not to know that when Draco looked at her, he was seeing Pansy Parkinson or maybe even Daphne. He wasn’t seeing her. She had always been, and probably always would be, the pesky little sister of his friend, and the only reason he had agreed to this marriage was because he didn’t have a choice.

A Malfoy-Greengrass marriage was mutually beneficial. A power couple as soon as they said “I do.” Draco was well on his way to becoming a powerful force in the Ministry. And Astoria’s family had connections with everyone who was anyone in the Wizarding world and, as a bonus, had not been tainted by a connection with the Dark Lord in either war. In fact, Astoria’s parents had firmly come out against him, even if that had caused some aggrievances for Astoria and Daphne when they were at Hogwarts.

But the Greengrasses had fallen on harder times than they had planned for, and Astoria’s parents needed money. The Malfoys needed a boost in their reputation. It made perfect sense to pair off their children — the dutiful daughter to the only child.

Astoria’s parents had known about the crush she’d had on Draco since she was nine years old and he came over one summer to spend a few days with Daphne. She had followed him around the whole time, hiding behind chairs or curtains or her mother whenever he would look her direction.

“Don’t mind her,” she remembered Daphne saying multiple times that week. “She’s just a little annoyance.”

If only Daphne hadn’t been into women, maybe she would be the one standing in the bathroom now, slipping her wedding dress off to her arms to lie in a puddle of white silk and lace at her feet, feeling her stomach flip and flop every direction as she thought about what was on the other side of that door.

But it wasn’t Daphne, it was her, and she couldn’t avoid the inevitable forever.

She picked up the tiny white pieces of lingerie Daphne had taken her to buy, insisting it made her look even more beautiful than she already was and that Draco would appreciate it.

Astoria wasn’t sure about that, but she slipped on the outfit anyway. A spaghetti-strapped tank top that could barely pass for a top, its material just a hint less than see-through, with tiny white shorts that seemed to show off more than her cotton knickers usually did. She turned on the faucet to run some water over her fingers, running them through her hair to try and fluff it up a bit, but it was no use. The day’s activities had taken their toll, and even though she had a bag pull of potions designed to help, she knew she had been in here too long. She didn’t want to give Draco even more of a reason to not be happy with her.

She folded her clothes, including her wedding dress, into as neat a pile as she possibly could, put her hand on the bathroom doorknob, took another deep breath to steady her nerves and opened the door.

She blinked, her mouth falling open, as she took in the scene before her. 

It was nothing like she had expected. Draco had dimmed the lights when she was in the bathroom, and now the room was only lit by the soft glow of six candles floating in the air. On a tray on the coffee table, surrounded by roses that also trailed from the bathroom to the bed, were two champagne flutes, filled to the brim, plus a full bottle beside them. Soft instrumental music filled the room, creating a sense of something special and romantic.

As the door opened, Draco came into view. He must have been on the other side of the room, but now that he was in front of her, she took him in. He was dressed only in a pair of black pants. She stared at his muscles and the firmness of his body before raising her eyes to his face. To her surprise, he smiled at her and held out a hand.

She moved forward until she was close enough to hold her own hand out and take his. She watched as his eyes took her in, from her flat curls down to her pedicured toes with the chipped nail polish. Then he looked back up at her face.

“You look beautiful,” he said softly.

She didn’t know what to say. She hadn’t expected this. She knew they had to consummate their marriage, but she had expected it to be perfunctory, routine. She thought maybe he wouldn’t even want to look at her so he could picture Pansy. After all, everyone knew he had only broken off his relationship with Pansy because his parents did not find her family to be acceptable.

His hand squeezed hers slightly, his thumb moving to run softly over her knuckles. She found herself talking without meaning to. 

“Why?” she said. “Why this?”

Confusion flickered across Draco’s face. “Why?” he repeated, and he sounded almost dumbfounded. “You’re my wife.”

“Not one of your choosing,” Astoria said.

“Maybe not traditionally,” Draco said. “But I did choose you.”

It was Astoria’s turn to be confused. “What?”

Draco’s brows furrowed a little. “Wait,” he said. “Do you really not know?”

“Know what?”

Draco laughed, not a derisive laugh that she had heard him use before with people but a melodic one that made her smile and somehow feel almost at ease. He lifted her hand still in his and kissed the knuckles of one hand and then reached out, took her other hand in his and lifted that one as well to kiss her knuckles. He then lowered them down and smiled at her.

“Oh, Astoria Greengrass Malfoy, I have had my eye on you since I danced with you at the Yule Ball all those years ago. I thought you knew that. And that hasn’t changed since then. In fact, it’s only gotten stronger.”

“But Pansy …”

“Pansy was a childhood girlfriend. It was never going to be more.”

“But I thought …”

“I let Pansy tell people whatever she wanted,” Draco said, with a shrug. “I called it off, on my own terms, but Parkinson pride and all that. But I never wanted her.”

“But you wanted me? You never said anything.”

“Neither did you,” Draco pointed out.

“I didn’t think someone like you could want someone like me,” Astoria whispered, and Draco squeezed her hands again.

“That’s funny,” he said, “because I didn’t think someone like you could want someone like me.”

He tugged on her hands then, and she went willingly. He bent down, capturing her lips with his, and Astoria’s heart swelled. They had kissed before — little kisses at their engagement party and for photos and at their wedding — but it was nothing like this. This one sent shivers up and down her spine, and all she wanted to do was throw her arms around this man who she loved.

So she did, pulling her hands out of his and wrapping her arms around his neck. He increased the pressure on her lips and then he was leading her backward. She felt the back of her knees hit the bed, and then she was falling, Draco on top of her, his lips never leaving hers.

She felt his hands skimming down her sides, dipping under her tank top to press his warm palm against her skin, and she had never wanted anything — wanted _anyone_ — more.

They made love for what felt like hours, wrapped in and around each other, their naked bodies pressed together, pulling pleasure from each other like they had never felt before. And when they were finally finished — after she had come at least three or four times — he pulled her to him, letting her lie with her head on his chest, his arms around her, both of them sweaty and sated and exhausted.

“This is all I’ve ever wanted,” she murmured to him as her eyes began to close on their own accord.

“This is all I’ve ever wanted as well,” Draco whispered back, and she felt his hand rub her back a couple times until sleep pulled her under, dreams of the life they were going to have — full of love and laughter and maybe children — keeping her content and with a smile on her face.

She hadn’t known it when she walked down the aisle, but she finally had exactly what she had been searching for.


End file.
